It’s been a while. Okay, not really, but it feels like it. I’ve been hard at work for two different projects at church. One is a pictorial directory that I designed and took pictures of every family. I’m proud of it… just waiting for a few last-minute submissions and then it will be ready.

The other project was helping with RSVPs and room assignments for a church prayer retreat this past weekend. We got back from it last night. It was… mostly a good time. :-) I had some wonderful and encouraging conversations, and enjoyed getting the chance to get in the word a bit more (there was childcare!). However, we all stayed in a lodge with bunkbeds. Originally Paul and I were going to camp, but the weather turned cold last-minute, so we had to move indoors. (Yeah… when it gets under 40 degrees at night… not a fan of camping!) Staying in a room with 8 other ladies in addition to Savannah and I was not easy. For one, everyone was hyper and went to bed after midnight. The door kept opening and closing as people were coming in and out, and we could not get the girls to settle down (there was another toddler Savannah’s age who was also having trouble!). Finally, the other toddler went to sleep with her daddy because I think their room was already in bedtime mode. Our room, however, was not. The other problem was that there were big fluorescent lights in the room, and when those were off it was pitch black – nothing in between. Normally, we do low-light in the bedroom while I rock her and read a story. We tried the story time, but it was so bright.

After a long time of Savannah crying and me attempting to get her to stay in her bed, I finally brought her in with me. (I didn’t want her in my bed for two reasons – one I was on a twin bed without any rails on either side, and two I was in a sleeping bag.) This resulted in a very restless night for me. She tends to move horizontal as she sleeps, and combined with the awkwardness of the sleeping bag, I was uncomfortable and kept waking up. Also, she kept falling out of bed since there wasn’t much room. Fortunately, the beds were low to the ground so she was never hurt, but it woke both of us up nonetheless. She woke up at 8 which was almost 5 hours less of sleep than she’s used to, and I’m sure you can only imagine how fussy she was during the day. Then naptime came and went and of course there was no way we were going to get her to sleep… Well, we were supposed to stay until 7pm or so, but we left at 3 because I was just so stressed out with her screaming and fussiness. So, the retreat itself was good, but Paul and I decided that we would never try a group lodge with a toddler again. Now we know. :-)

I felt bad for Paul because he didn’t get to hike at all, nor did he get to play with the bonfire like he really wanted. We are busy the next few weekends, but hopefully we get the chance to go camping for real before too long!